Controlling mechanism for locomotives.



E. L. RAGONNET. CONTROLLING MEGHANISM FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1908.

Patented Aug. 3, 1909.

' piston'ofthe mecham m 1n the position tois a side view part y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EUGENE L. RAGONNET, OF BOWDOINHAM, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TO'BURNHAM, WILLIAMS &

COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A FIRM. 4

CONTROLLING MECHANISM FOR LOCOMOTIVES;

Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE L. RAooNNE'r, a citizen of the United States, residing in Bowdoinham, Maine, have invented certain Improvements in Controlling Mechanism for comotives, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relatesto certain improve.- ments in power mechanism for operating a locomotive reversing gear.

.One object of my invention is to lock the which it is set so that said piston willjnot move due to leakage after once set by the engine driver. I

In the ac'compa g drawing:--'Figure 1, 1n section illustrating suflicientpf the reverse mechanism toillustrate my invention; Fig." 2, is an end view looking in the direction. of the arrow,.Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and'4 are perspective views of-certain' getail parts of my device; and Fig. 5 is a grammatic view illustrating the relative positions ofthe valve and cyliiider 'orts.

In the above drawings A is a cylin er havg a piston B and provlded with a piston rod B extending through a stufiing box in one end. This 10% is connected to across head C adapted to sli e on ways C.

I B is a connecting rod attached to the cross head C and to the means for operating the link motion of an engine ofthe locomotive.- motion is not shown as it forms no part of the resent invention and ma -be of any suitable form without departing rom the essential features of said invention. 7

The cylinder has a valve chest 1) provided with heads ddfan'd containing a valve E having a rod e.

lever F whichis fulcrumed at c to the cross head 0; the fulcrum iii the present instance the orward end of the cylinder A, whilea port. a connects with the rear end, there be mg alsoan inlet 'port a communicating with the valve chest midwaylhetween'said two orts and connected to sag ly pipe Specification of Letters Patent. Application and July 18, 190:. Serial No. 444,209."

This latter is enlarged at thevouter end 6 where it passes through anextension (1? of the headd andis attached to. a

Patented Aug. 3', 1909.

fluid is confined between the head and the inder A piston when the latter aplpiro'aches the end of its-stroke so that it is cus oned and graduallvbronght to rest.

7 he valve E is open throu h its center so that one end of tlevalve c est communicates with the other at all times, and it also has in its outer surface acent'rall placed annular groove, on each side of W 'ch are packing rings whereby communication is cut oii between said groove and the two ends f alve'chamber..

As shown in Fig. 5, the valve has practically no inside la thouglliupossessing a relatively lar e outsi e lap, w e the valve chest ends of t e ports a and a are of triangular section, so that one of'them is opened to fluid under pressure. immediatelx the 'valv'efis moved the construction shown, thesefports are not opened to exhaust until the valve has moved an appreciable distance and even then the exhaust is throttled owing to their angular form. I I In the headd' of the valve chest is an opening d for the exhaust'andwhen the device is used with air there is a screen (I placed in'the same; otherwise a suitable pipe 1s connected to said head.

NA lever Iis mounted on a rock shaft i to which is secured a tappet 71 designed to strike the end of a set'screw h mounted ina lug on the extension d2 of the headd' and said lever has an armjt? which is placed-to contact with a set screw h on the opposite side of said head extension d The end of this latter set screw extends in a direction opposite to that of the set screw it so that 'thetappet t'lirhits the motion of the lever I in one irection and tom its mid position. Moreover by the arm 0? limitsits movement in the oppo- I site, direction.

Connected to the outer end of the arm Tie a rodJ whichis attached to a crank n on a shaft N which is' provided with an operating han dle N;- This ,shaft is mounted on a frame M laced in the cab of a locomotive and said rame'has a-toothed se "ment m with which engag'sl'a handled paw it on the arm N' so the arm I on the rock shaft i which imparts motion to the lever F and thence to the valve I) through thewalve rod e. Whenthe operating arm n is moved, the pin 0 is the fulcrum for the lever F, but when the piston B moves and the slide C travels on the slideway C, then the point f becomes the fulcrum, so that in either case the valve is moved to open-or close the ports.

If it is desired to shift the piston B in the cylinder to alter the position of the link, the lever N is moved, for example in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 1, causing the rod J to move in the direction of its arrow, and there-' by moving both the-arm I and the lever F in the direction of their arrows, with the result that the valve is shifted so as to allow air under pressure to be admitted through the port a to the rear end of the cylinder. The piston B is then moved forward in the direction of its arrow, C and moving the fulcrum c of the lever which in turn moves the valve E in a direction oipposite to that in whichit was first move It is thus brought back to the position Where it cuts. off the supply of air to the end of the cylinder and it is to be noted that in any case the movement of the operating lever N into any position to open either of the portsa, or a causesa movement of the piston B which will return the valve to a position with said ports closed, so that said piston is locked in any position to which it is shifted. Both ports are closed and the annular groove in the valve is o. posite the port a while both ends of the va ve' chest are open to exhaust.

The movement of the arm I and consequently the movement of the lever F. by the operating lever N is controlled by the set screws hh against which the tappets'i and t -strike when said arm is moved either to a forward or rear position.

While I have described my invention as operated by air under pressure, it will begunderstood that any fluid under pressure may.

be used to actuate the mechanism.

By the above described arrangement and construction of parts and more particularly by the use of a valve and ports proportioned as shown, the piston and valve are almost instantly brought to rest after having been operated, with but little or none of the vibration which has characterized similar devices of the same general character. By throttling the exhaust with portsshaped-as shown, a compression of the fluid occurs which absorbs thereby pushing forward the slide I 'limlting I claim 2- I. The combination of a cylinder, a piston therein, a rod connected to the piston, a cross head attached to the rod, means for connecting the cross head with the link motion of aniengine, an operating lever, a' rock shaft, an arm on the rock shaft connected to said operating lever, tappets forlimiting the movement of the rock shaft, a lever ivoted to the cross head and connected to t e arm on the rock shaft, a valve chest havin ports forming means of communicatioh wit each end of the cylinder, a valve in the valve chest, and a rod connected to the to the cross head. L

2. The combination of a cylinder, a piston,

therein, a rod attached to the piston, a cross valve and the cross head with the link motion of an engine, a valve chest having ports communicating with each end of the cylinder, an operating lever, a rock shaft, an arm on the rock shaft, a rod connecting said arm with the operating lever, a tappet on said arm, a set screw on the fixed orti6n of the-mechanism against which t e tappet strikes, a tappet secured to the shaft, a set screw for the movement of said ,latter tappet whereby the movement of the rock shaft .is limited in both directions, a pivot on the cross head, a slotted lever mounted on the pivot, a rod connecting the upper end of said lever with th arm of the roc shaft, a valve in the valve chest, and a rod connecting the valve with the cross head lever.

3, The combination of a cylinder, a piston therein, a valve chest having aninlet port and a port on each side thereof communicating with the cylinder, said cylinder. ports entering the valve chest. through openings whose width varies as they extend away from the inlet port, a valve in the chest havin a central reces'sso constructed that the va ve has outside lap and is practically without inside lap, means for connecting the piston with the engine, reversing gear, means for operating'the valve at will, and a device connecting the piston with said valve for automatically returning it to its normal position after each movement of the piston.

4. The combination of a cylinder, a pistbn,

. a valve chest connected to a source of fluid under pressure, and to said cylinder, a valve 1n said chest, means for operating the valve at Wlll, means including a movable'member for connecting the piston to the reversing In testimony whereof, I have signed my gear of the engine, a bar fulcrumed on said name to this specification, in the presence of 10 movable member and also connected to the two subscribing witnesses.

valve, and means for operating said valve ineluding an element also'connected to said bar i RAGONR and capable of acting as a fulcrum therefor, Witnesses: and a device for limiting the range of move- BENJ. ADAMS,

ment of said bar in both directions. l I RoB'r. E. PATTEN. 

